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Monday, October 27, 2008

Challenge #3 will be up at the Card-a-licious card challenge blog this morning and it's one of my favorites so far...create a shaped card! Those of you who know me know that I love coming up with new shapes for cards. Adds a fun element and something different than just the plain old square or rectangle. I decided to use Photoshop to help me with my shape, although you could certainly draw your own, or print a piece of clip art on-line, or even use a coloring book shape to trace for your card base.Here is a how to:When you open Photoshop, click File, New and then size your document about 6x6 inches to start with. Click OK. You will see a blob looking shape on the left hand side in the tool bar. (If you can't see your tool bar, click Windows and then Tools to open the tool palette.) This tool is otherwise known as the Custom Shape Tool (not the blob tool as I like to call it...LOL).

Click on these to see them in better detail.

Next, you will go up to the top of the screen and you'll see a drop down menu of shapes. I chose the moon shape. Then put your cursor to your document box up in the left corner and click the mouse, holding it down and drag it across your document to "DRAW" the shape. You can click View and Rulers to see the ruler on your document and tell what size you are drawing your shape. You can make your shape any size, depending on how big you would like your card. To resize, click Control and T at the same time, and it will allow you to make your shape bigger or smaller.That's it! Then you just print out your shape, cut it out and trace it onto a piece of folded black cardstock. Make sure when cutting out your card that you leave a bit of a fold, so the card doesn't fall apart! I decorated this with Melissa Frances paper, sticker and fall chipboard covered with black glitter and a Making Memories button. To create the Creepy Critters treat bag, I cut a piece of Melissa Frances paper 12" x 4" and folded in at 5" on both ends, leaving a 2" bottom. Then I wrapped some candy in purple cellophane and tucked it inside the folded paper and stapled it all together at the top! I cut the cellophane into strips to give it a funky look. Lastly, I wrapped a strip of ribbon around the bag and tied in a knot at the top, then added a Halloween sticker over the front.

I made a similar treat bag last year (the green EEK bag), with the exception that I cut a hole in the front to allow the candy to peek through. The little confetti spiders were a fun addition!We had fun this weekend picking up some more pumpkins at the patch, carving them and roasting the seeds!

I'll be back soon with some photos! Have a great Monday!

Edited to add: Yes, I forgot one step! You DO have to change the moon to another color besides white for printing purposes! Click the color button at the top of the screen in Photoshop and choose another color. Thanks!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

It's almost that time to Trick-or-Treat! Are your little ones excited? I know mine sure are! I had fun creating this mini album with pics of our Halloween last year, it was Kati's first time trick-or-treating and she did awesome, it was fun to watch her getting so excited when she figured out what it was all about...the CANDY! lol (She was 2 at the time!)

My Halloween mini album that I was telling you about last week is up and ready for purchase! You can go here for more information: Right at Home Scrapbooking. There are 14 pages of chipboard (houses and rectangles, so you can add a TON of photos!), My Mind's Eye "Spooked" papers, and gorgeous accents that Lisa, the owner, picks out. She always does such a beautiful job. You'll love this kit! The kits always come with photos and directions. Here are a few pics:

(this is Kati and I before we started trick-or-treating that night)

Grab one while you can! :)

I received a box of new Pink Paislee goodies the other day and couldn't wait to play with these new lines! This little "tootsie roll" card is created with the new Sweet Cakes line. The colors are so fun and they have come out with ribbon now too that match the lines...isn't it all adorable?(Will be in Paper Crafts Magazine - Card Creations 7, 2009.)

I created the tootsie roll shape from chipboard myself and then covered with paper and added one of the journaling cards over the top. Then I used the "sugar" stamp with this set, stamped onto white cardstock and popped it up with pop dots, and then "sugared" it with some of the new Pink Paislee glitter called Pixie Stix! The "hey" letters are also Pink Paislee called Holly Doodle. I am "sugaring" everything I can get my hands on now. HA

Stay tuned, I have also dug into my Tinsel Town goodies and am anxious to show you what I've been doing! You should definitely check out the Pink Paislee blog, always tons of inspiration from these talented girls, and check out this project by Katie today! WOW is all I can say!!Hugs,

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

These are my two girls...never in a million years did I think I was going to have two girls! They are such a blessing, and it's exciting to see them getting closer and closer the older they get! They are 5 1/2 years apart, so sometimes it's hard...but it seems as though they are learning to play together better each day, and Kati learns so much from her older sister. I only had a brother, who was 5 1/2 years younger than me, so I've never known what it's like to have a sister to share secrets and have pillow fights with! lol I've always wanted one though.I created this layout for the Melissa Frances blog. Our assignment this month was to create a layout with the Thankful line of papers and I'm so glad I did this layout, it's precious to me!

The journaling is tucked under the small photos on the bottom and reads:

When I found out we were having a 2nd baby, I thought for sure it was going to be a boy, but at the ultrasound, the nurse told us it was a girl and that my girls would each have a sister to love and be best friends with. She couldn't have been more right. Shortly after that day, a song came out on the radio called, "In My Daughter's Eyes". It touched me so much that I cried every time it came on. I knew the moment I heard it that I was so blessed to be having another girl, and you two would be blessed as well.I thank the Lord that you two have each other. I wouldn't have it any other way. Two girls. I love you both more than you'll ever know. God had a plan, and his plan was perfect. Love, Mom.

One technique I had fun with on this was adding a sticker over the butterfly chipboard. Then I trimmed around it with my Cutterbees scissors and added paint around the edges. While the paint was wet, I sprinkled on some glitter. I've been having fun stamping too and can't get enough of these floral stamps by Melissa Frances! They are called Summer Breeze. Love to cut them out and add them to my pages and cards.

Oh! Did you notice my new blog banner? I LOVE it!!! HUGE thanks to Delaney Gates for making it for me, would you believe I won the chance for her to make one for me on her blog? She is so talented..you should definitely check her blog out! It was time for me to get a new one. I took a class over at SIStv on "blinging out your blog" and it was terrific. SO...you may see some changes here and there!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Good morning! The next challenge is up over at Card-a-licious, and the challenge this week is to create a birthday card with 2 journaling tags somewhere on your card. I used Melissa Frances paper, rub ons, remember when journaling sticker, and resin flower, a Making Memories journaling sheet, a butterfly cut from the KI lace paper, ribbon by Offray and a Doodlebug gem. Hope you will come on over and play!A few days ago, I got Kati all dressed up and took her outside for a little photo shoot for fun! I can't believe how big she is getting. I should really do this more often, seeing how I haven't gotten the girls in to a professional photographer in a long, long time. She did really great letting me take her picture, I know my husband always says he doesn't like the posed shots, but if I want to get her eyes, she has to look at me! lol These are a few of my favorites. On the last one, she wasn't posing...just swinging and watching the leaves fall....

(The rules....link your tagger and list these rules on your blog. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.)

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1. When I was 5, I was bucked off a horse that I was riding on with my dad and landed on a cement thing face first, had 2 black eyes!

2. My dad was/is a home builder, so we moved almost once a year! I went to about 7 different schools. We lived in every house before it sold.

5. I am a total girly girl...as you can probably tell by my scrappy work...when I was little and all the cousins would visit the farm where my grandma and grandpa lived, they would all go outside and jump the hay bales, and I was content to stay inside with grandma and paint our nails together. ha

6. I am very shy in real life. I have overcome it a little bit, but yes, still shy! I wish I could be loud and obnoxious sometimes, but it's just not me.

7. I taught elementary school on the Indian Reservation in South Dakota. What an experience that was! I will never forget it as long as I live. My classroom was K-2, a multi-age classroom.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Halloween is getting closer...have you decided on costumes yet? Kati is going to be Tinkerbell and got a really cute costume from grandma not to long ago and Taylor is still deciding...she thinks she might want to be a vampire, but she had a rock star outfit on last night with the guitar and sunglasses and I thought she looked COOL! So maybe....we need to decide soon though..it's creeping right up!Anyhow today is a scrappy day for me (I'm hoping!). Am working on a Halloween mini album kit for Right at Home Scrapbooking that will be available for pre-order soon! Papers and die cuts are My Mind's Eye and lots of other goodies in here! I'll post a link to purchase as soon as it's ready.

I found these cute little snacks that kids can make on the BHG website, they have the coolest ideas! Here is the recipe.Or these little witch cupcakes....SO darn adorable, irresistible actually! You can find the recipe here!Don't forget today is Scrappy Formula day over at Create My Keepsake! Every Friday, a sketch is posted and you have 24 hours to complete a layout inspired by it. Then at the end of the month all of the entries are put into a drawing for a prize from CMK! So if you are home and scrapping today, try this out! Sketches are great for inspiration! Here is the link to the information: CMK Scrappy Formula!

Also, check out the Melissa Frances blog this month for lots of give-aways and inspiration to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month - and an altered bra contest, only 3 entries so far and a big prize package, so give it a try! =) Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

It's going to be a brisk fall day here in N.Y. today, then down into the 50's the next few days, and next week the highs are only supposed to be in the 40's! I'm not quite ready for the cold weather yet! If it's too cold on Halloween eve, I think we are going to trick-or-treat at the mall this year, we did that one year and Taylor loved it! It's warm, safe, and you get lots of candy quickly going store to store. lol

I had a ton of fun with the card kit this month from Create My Keepsake! Unfortunately, the kits sold out already to members who can purchase them a few days earlier than the public. There are a few kits available withOUT the large pink letters for a discount....if you are interested in that one, here is the link: kit without alphas. (scroll down to the bottom of kit page) You do still get the directions and patterns to create these 4 cards!

*Witch hat card*

*Boo! card*

*Thankful pumpkin card*

*Thankful for You card*

There are lots of cute patterns on the backsides of the papers that are not Halloween, so it's a fun and versatile kit, even great for those thanksgiving cards you might want to make. If you'd like to sign up to become a member and receive your kit e-mail notifications earlier than the public, click HERE!

Stay tuned...right now I'm working on kit featuring a Halloween mini album for Right at Home Scrapbooking that will be available soon. Also trying to figure out what we are going to do for Taylor's birthday this year, I think we might see about going "Cosmic" bowling at night when they play the music and have the disco ball! I still have to call and find out more information (amongst painting my kitchen! sheesh...it never ends does it?). Also need to sign her up for basketball...she wants to try it out and I think she'll be great. Anyhooo-thanks for stopping by!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Good morning! I wanted to share a few projects today, the first is a little sign I did for the Pink Paislee blog today. I created this for my daughter Kati's room with the chipboard Pop Fashion Topsiders – Borders. (Click on photo to see it larger.)To create this sign, I adhered the two largest chipboard Topsiders together with pink Magic Mesh. The Magic Mesh sticks so easily to anything and is removable at any time, but you could also adhere the two Topsiders together with a piece of cardstock in the back.

Next, I added a piece of the Topsider border sticker (the one that looks like a crown) and then a strip of the Leg Warmers paper (stripes) to cover the seam where the 2 Topsiders meet in the middle. Black letters stickers from the Fashion Script line were added for Kati’s name and brushed with a bit of white paint. The rub on swirl next to her name is from the Pop Fashion Accents in black.I painted the little Maya Road bird white and used the silver Pop Fashion Accents rub ons to cover it when dry. Then I added some little leaves that were created from the polkadot Parachute Pants paper and a few flowers from Maya Road as well. Lastly, a ribbon tied onto the scallops allows it to hang.

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I made a card to go with this also using the Pop Fashion Topsiders – Shapes. Usually you would put the sticker right onto the chipboard shape that coordinates with it. But…I had already used the chipboard that matches the sticker on another project. So I decided to place the sticker in the middle of my card and then cut the negative of the chipboard out from the whole sheet of chipboard to frame the sticker. I popped it up with pop dots for a dimensional look after covering it with Hip Huggers paper. Great way to use your leftover chipboard! Just score around the shape with your paper trimmer to get a nice straight line and then finish cutting through the chipboard with your scissors.

And lastly, there is a fun new card challenge blog that you must see! It's called Card*a*licious and today's challenge is to create a Halloween card - but there is one catch! Your card MUST include a Halloween icon--for example--a ghost, bat, witch, pumpkin, spider...etc.take a little peek at what the designers did! Card*a*licious challenge blog! A new challenge will be posted every Monday for you card lovers like me!

All of the supplies on my Card*a*licious card are Pink Paislee Vintage Moon, except the buttons and web. The wavy piece is a Topsider Border and the black glitter in the corner is from the new Pixie Stix!! A must have!!Enjoy your Columbus Day! I am painting my kitchen and still have another coat to do. Ug! It takes forever to go around all those nooks and crannies, but it is sure to look warmer than the color I had before. Have a great day, y'all!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

O.K. seriously, I love autumn! Every year I forget how much I love fall until it gets here again. It's such a magical time of the year! The colors are just amazing here right now. This weekend is the peak for the changing of the leaves in New York, and it's fabulous! I, having come from South Dakota where there are virtually no trees, mostly flat-lands and prairies, had a hard time getting used to all the trees here at first, but gorgeous they are!! I'll have to get some pics to share with you...

Last weekend, Taylor was invited to a birthday party at the home of one of the girls in her class. They manage a farm and raise/train race horses for the track here in Saratoga..maybe you've heard about our infamous race track? I tell ya, this was one of the best parties I've ever been to. I totally felt like a kid again! They drove us around on a hay ride and stopped in each of the fields to see the ponies and their moms. The kids were able to feed them apples and they came running right over to us! They knew they were being fed. lol These horses were amazingly beautiful and so friendly!Taylor is the one in the brown coat here...she ADORES horses and was in all her glory!After seeing the horses, they got to go up in the loft of the barn and explore, and then another hay ride back to a field where they had hidden several pumpkins for the kids. Such a fun day!

Last Sunday, we also made a trip to the local corn maze and pumpkin patch. Here are some of my favorite pics from the day...This is my hubby and girls as we were going through the corn maze and stopping to see what number we are on! It has become a tradition to do this every year and the girls just love it!Here is the photo of the maze we went through! It took us about 1/2 hour to get all the way though...I'm so thrilled to see my girls becoming closer friends as they get older. Even thought they are 5 1/2 years apart, they adore each other! (well most of the time..LOL)That's it for me today. I'll be back soon with some Pink Paislee projects! Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the rest of your beautiful fall weekend!